Completed
primary school in his native village. Studied at the Rohatyn Gymnasium.
After its closure by the Polish authorities continued his studies in the
Lviv Academic Gymnasium which he completed in 1937. That same year became
a student of the Greek-Catholic Theological Academy in Lviv. Was forced
to interrupt his studies in September, 1939. Worked as a teacher in the
Lemko region until 1941. Participated in the activities of the semi-legal
Expeditionary groups (Pokhidni hrupy) of the Organization of Ukrainian
Nationalists (OUN). Evading arrest by the Gestapo after the liquidation
of his sub-group, he returned to Lviv where he continued his studies at
the Theological Academy, completing them with distinction in 1944. After
the arrival of the Soviet Army Western Ukraine, he immigrated to Germany.
From 1946 to 1948 published many articles about the Ukrainian Insurgent
Army (UPA) in the English, French, Swiss, and Dutch press.Was
the founder and co-editor of the newspaper Chas (Time) (Fuert, Germany)
1945-48. Was a member of the editorial board of Ukrainska trybuna (Ukrainian
Tribune) (Munich, 1945-48), headed the Ukrainian Press Service.

In
1949 Roman Rakhmanny immigrated to Canada where he continued his journalistic
activities and played an active role in the socio-political life of Ukrainian
immigrants. That year he became the co-founder of the Canadian branch of
the League for the Liberation of Ukraine and the newspaper Homin Ukrainy
(Ukrainian
Echo). Studied at the University of Toronto where he obtained an M.A. in
Slavic Studies in 1958. In 1962 he defended his doctoral dissertation at
the Universite de Montreal. Worked as a lecturer of Ukrainian literature
at l’Universite de Montreal (1961-62) and McGill University (1974-76).
Took an active part in the work of the Shevchenko Scientific Society, the
Ukrainian Free Academy of Sciences. Was a member of the Union of Ukrainian
Journalists of Canada, the Union of Ukrainian Writers in Exile, the World
Congress of Free Ukrainians, the Canadian Association of Slavists, the
International PEN Club.

From
1959 to 1974 Roman Rakhmanny worked as an announcer-producer at the Ukrainian
Section of CBC’s Radio Canada International and from 1975 to his retirementin
1984 was its head. He was a member of the editorial boards of the journal
Suchasnist
(Present
Times) (1963-86 and Novi dni (New Days) (1970-71).

For
his outstanding journalistic achievements, in 1972 Roman Rakhmanny received
the first award of the Union of Ukrainian Journalists of America. In 1973
he was awarded the Shevchenko Medal by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.
In 1992, on the 100th anniversary of Ukrainian settlement in
Canada,he was listed among the 100
most distinguished Ukrainian Canadians and was awarded an honorary citation
and a medal by the Ukrainian Canadian Committee.

The
three-volume work entitled Ukraina atomnoho viku (Ukraine of the
Atomic Age, 1987-91), encompassing the journalistic works of Roman Rakhmanny,
attracted the attention of large numbers of politicians, scholars, journalists,
and publicists. It was widely reviewed and critics noted that the body
of Rakhmanny’s writings enriches “the theory and practice of world journalism,
and is an instrument for researching life and predicting the development
of socio-political thought in the contemporary world.” For this work in
March, 1994, Roman Rakhmanny received
Ukraine’s highest award, the Shevchenko State Prize.

A
selection of Roman Rakhmanny’s essays and articles entitled Rozdumy
pro Ukrainu (Meditations on Ukraine) was published in Kyiv in 1997.
In late 1999 a Ukrainian translation of his doctoral dissertation entitled
Literary-ideological
trends in Western Ukraine, 1919-1939, was published in Kyiv under the
title:Literaturno-ideolohichni
napriamky v Zakhidnii Ukraini, 1919-1939 roky.